Short note on Buddhism

1.Buddhism was propagated by Gautam Buddha .

2.Born at Kapilvastu (Nepal) at 563 BC.

3. Known as prince Siddharth and was the son of king Suddhodhan and Maya .

4.Married to Yashodhara at an early age and had a son named Rahul.

5.His 1st teacher name was Alara Kalama and 2nd was Udrak Ramputra .

6.Gautam Buddha was a king but one day he was moving in the jungle and saw 4 sight which commute his life to a Budha .

The 4 sights were:

a) An old Man

b)An ill Man

c)A dead body

d)A Monk

7.Under Bodhi tree (or peepal tree) he meditated and gained supreme knowledge called Nirvana.

Basic Principles of Buddhism

1.Sorrow is everywhere.

2.Desire in the cause of sorrow

3.Eradication of sorrow

4.Eight fold path.

Philosophy of the Buddhism

Lived an ascetic life for 6yrs and attained nirvana at Bodh Gaya under a peepal tree .Travelled to Sarnath and preached his idea of way of life.

1.Rejection of authority of Vedas

2.Rejection of existence of god

3.Rejection of existence of soul

4.Rejection of Varna system

5.Acceptance of existence of Reincarnation (Re-Birth)

6.Acceptance of theory Moksha

7.Acceptance of non-violence.

8.Preached four noble truth :Sorrow ,Desires ,Eradication of sorrow ,Eight Fold Path.

Buddhism Political Thought

To speak about Buddhist political thought is to a degree to fail to take Buddhism on its
own terms. political theory can be detach from the writings of the Buddha, it is decidedly secondary, both in presentation and in substance. The Buddhist project at its core is not one of external transformation, but of internal transformation.
Insofar as Buddhist political theory exists it cannot be meaningfully separated from the larger
Buddhist soteriological project of enlightenment. Where we see political action in the writings
of the Buddha, it always takes place both in the context of and in the service of the greater goal of enlightenment.
The defining characteristic of Buddhist political thought is that it understands itself as
decidedly secondary and by and large unimportant. Unlike Western thought, wherein politics has since the age of the Greeks been viewed as primary and fundamental, Buddhist thought
understands politics to be a mere tool in the larger Buddhist project. This devaluation of political
Life is clear in the buddhist teachings.

Buddhist path to Liberation

The noble eightfold path (ariya attahgika magga) is generally
considered, by practising Buddhists and scholars alike, to be a
complete summary of Gotama’s course of practice leading to
the cessation of suffering. However, there are in the Tipitaka
several other lists of stages which are demonstrably also statements of that course of practice, and which, while broadly resembling the eightfold path, differ from it in omitting certain stages and/or including certain others. In this paper, a selection
of these alternative lists of stages is subjected to a comparative
analysis, some aspects of Gotama’s course of practice are reinterpreted accordingly, and it is argued that the noble eightfold path does not entirely deserve the high status usually accorded it.1
Five lists of stages, chosen for their overall resemblance to
the eightfold path, are dealt with. They are drawn from the
first four nikdyas of the Sutta-pitaha. List 1 occurs there some
sixty times, List 2 three times, Lists 3 and 4 each occur once
only, and List 5 occurs ten times. However, the importance of
these lists of stages is considerably greater than their relatively
infrequent occurrence would suggest, as the analysis that now
follows will demonstrate.

Fall of Buddhism

1. Decline of Buddhist Sanghas:

The important cause of the decline and fall of Buddhism was the decline of Buddhist Sanghas. The Sanghas became centres of corruption. The discipline of vinay pitaka was violated. Ease-loving people dominated viharas . The monks and nuns began to lead lives of pleasure and ease. The Mahayanist and Hinayanist quarreled with each other. Internal conflict proved to be the ruin of Buddhism.

2. Revival of Brahmanism:

The revival of Brahmanical Hinduism also served as a cause for the decline of Buddhism. The rites and rituals of Hinduism were simplified. It also incorporated Buddhist principle of non-violence and accepted Buddha as a Hindu incarnation. The Gupta rulers were great patrons of Brahmanical religion and did a lot for it. The reformed Brahmanical Hinduism was able to appeal to the people.

3. Division among Buddhists:

Buddhism was divided into a number of groups like “Hinayana”, “Mahayana” “Vajrayana” “Tantrayana” and “Sahajayana” and ultimately it lost its originality.

4. Muslim Invasion:

The Muslim invasion practically gave a death blow to Buddhism in India. The riches of Buddhists Viharas attracted the attention of the Muslim invaders. So the Buddhist Viharas became the targets of Muslim invasion whose sole intention was to plunder the wealth. The Buddhists monks couldn’t resist the Muslim attack.

They killed Buddhist monks, some of them converted to Islam . and others fled to Nepal and Tibet and took shelter there. Ultimately Buddhism died away in India, the land of its birth though it continued to flourish in countries beyond India for centuries.Further information about is mention in Encyclopedia.

5. Emergence of Rajput’s:

Rajput’s rules most parts of Northern India from eight to twelfth century. They discarded the Buddhist principle of non-violence. They patronized Hinduism which was a martial religion. The Buddhist monks feared persecution and shed from Northern India. So Buddhism practically disappeared from Northern India.